Angry Video Game Nerd Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Board James

B7827e4125db0499dca171a7dae5126fe1db01e6

Portrayed by
James Rolfe (2009-present)
Occupation
Board Game player
Character's First Appearance
Mouse Trap (voice)
DragonStrike (on-screen)
Friends
Opponents
Status
Unknown (likely deceased)
Latest Appearance
Resident Evil Survivor
"I'm Board James! And when Board James is bored, I play some Board Games!"
—Board James
"That wasn't me.... THAT WASN'T ME, IT WAS THE FUCKING PHONE!!!"
—Board James pleading his innocence to The Nerd

Board James is the titular main protagonist of the series of the same name. As the Nerd is a comical, fictional representation of James Rolfe's video gaming life, Board James is his comical representation of his board gaming life. Usually accompanied by Motherfucker Mike and sometimes even Bad Luck Bootsy, Board James plays and "reviews" rather obscure board games, yet sometimes rather popular ones, whether they are good or bad.

History and Overview[]

Season 1-2[]

Early Days and Dream Phone Incident[]

Board James is possibly mentally deranged and insane person, and may have Schizophrenia. He is shown to be a criminal in his early years who was sentenced to prison for unknown crimes. After his execution he was reincarnated in a lower realm obsessed with board games. As the series goes on he usually gets accompanied by his friends, Motherfucker Mike and Bad Luck Bootsy, and episodes often end with things going wrong like with Mr Bucket and Shark Attack - much to his dismay. Later in the Dream Phone episode, he experiences the Dream Phone from the game threatening to kill him. The Dream Phone (presumably) proceeds to kill both Mike and Bootsy with a knife and nearly kills Board James himself, but he manages to defeat the phone by putting it in the microwave - destroying it. It remains unclear who actually killed Mike and Bootsy, but subsequent episodes and theories suggest it could have been Board James himself. Eventually the police arrive at his house, where he is arrested and imprisoned once again on suspicion of murder.

Cameo in AVGN Games []

He appears in the Nerd's AVGN Games episode, seemingly mentally stable. As in the video, the Nerd is reviewing fan-made games about him, when Board James comes in (uninvited) and hands him a fan made Angry Video Game Nerd Monopoly game.

After showing off all of the creativity the game has, the Nerd is impressed, but asks Board James how he broke out of prison. Board James says he used a "Get Out Of Jail Free Card", referencing Monopoly's card to instantly bail your way out of prison. However, the Nerd is not convinced, asking him "Didn't you kill your friends or something?". Board James gets extremely angry, yelling at him saying that it was the phone, not him, before storming out of the room. The Nerd, not even touched by being cursed out, remarks how much Board James looks familiar to him (poking fun at the fact that Board James and the Nerd are played by the same person).

Season 3[]

Playing Alone[]

Maxresdefault

Since apparently getting out of prison, Board James has been playing board games by himself. In The Omega Virus episode he fought and killed three robotic clones of himself, or at least appeared to. Then in Lie Detector, the game's cards began to speak to him, saying Board James was the one who killed his friends all along, an accusation he vehemently denies. This was also a first for the Board James series: an episode with two endings, a "TRUE" and "FALSE" ending. Regardless of which ending the viewer chooses, Board James still insists he is innocent.

The Return of Mike and Bootsy[]

In the Ouija episode, Board James attempts to contact the dead spirits of Mike and Bootsy, but is unsuccessful. To relive his frustration, he begins to play Domino Rally, when suddenly the planchette from the Ouija board knocks all the dominos down by accident. The planchette begins to move on its own, spelling "AW SHUCKS" on the Ouija board. Board James takes this as a sign that Bootsy's spirit is trying to contact him, and begins a seance with the help of a book with a demonic face on it.

Board James faints after cutting himself, and awakens to a strange reality where Mr. Bucket and the Dream Phone have come back to life. Then Elvis Presley comes in to destroy the pair of possessed toys, and Rodney Dangerfield appears. After playing some games with the two, Board James suspects that they are really representations of Mike and Bootsy's spirits, and has them touch the planchette together, returning them all to their usual selves.

Incident with Mike and Bootsy and AVGN[]

Despite some suspicions, Board James is happy for his friends to be back, and they return to the good old times in the next two episodes. However, it's hinted in both episodes that Mike and Bootsy may not be real, instead just illusions of James's mind - once again suggesting that it may have been James that killed them all along. In the Urkel Games episode, Mike and Boosty explain that James has no friends, but that it's okay for it to be that way - before disappearing.

In the next episode where he reviews Video Game board games, AVGN appears alongside him. It' revealed at the end of the episode that James and the Nerd are the same character, with the Nerd being his split personality.

13 Dead End Drive[]

In the 13 Dead End Drive episode, a collection of newspaper articles discovered by Mike and Bootsy discuss the Hang Man murders with the article reading "The killer connected to the mass murders has been found. A storage unit of dead bodies found recently was the can of worms that the case opened up. The storage unit was full of board games and now corpses too. The clues were presented by old crime partners Mikey and Boris." After they return and finish the game, Board James appears dressed as a detective, trying to kill Mike and Bootsy while trying to reassure them that it's just a game. Mike kills James but Mike and Bootsy end up being hung as well. The episode then shows the Hang Man, who bears a striking resemblance to Board James but with longer hair, in his prison cell, reading the instruction manuals for Wacky Blasters, Omega Virus, Dragon Strike and Tornado Rex. Two people off-screen yell for him to keep it down, both sounding similar to Mike and Bootsy.

Nightmare and Beyond[]

In the final episode, Nightmare and Beyond, Board James, Mike and Bootsy end up in the 13 Dead End Drive game and play the game Nightmare. Throughout the episode, the three characters die many times, each time with them descending into a new board game realm (Nightmare, Candyland, Forbidden Bridge and Battleships). Each time they die, Board James seems to grow more and more mentally unstable, as despite doing all these things to Mike and Bootsy, such as torturing them in the Nightmare realm and chasing them in Forbidden Bridge, it's still just a game to him. Eventually in the Battleship realm, Mike manages to destroy the ship Board James is on, seemingly killing him for good.

The episode ends with the reveal that the Hang Man and Board James are in fact the same person, and a shot of the bottom of the sea showing Board James's remains among a pile of board games - leaving the location of where his spirit went unknown...

Other Appearances[]

The Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures 2: ASSimilation[]

Board james

Board James as he appears in The Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures 2: ASSimilation.

Board James has an appearance as a miniboss in The Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures 2: ASSimilation in the level Board James 2 You'll Get Caught Up as he crosses paths with the Nerd after killing Bootsy and Mike.

After killing Board James, you get the achievement (on Steam) "He looks familiar," referencing that Nerd and Board James are the same person.

Also, after killing Board James, the Nerd ironically says, "Glad I'm not him!" again, referencing that him and Board James are the same person.

Cameo in AVGN Resident Evil Survivor[]

Board James in Resident Evil Survivor

Board James (in silhouette form) has a brief cameo near the end of the AVGN episode Resident Evil Survivor tossing the Nerd a Super Scope from the shadows in order to defeat the Tyrant.






Trivia[]

  • There are several hints to The Nerd and Board James being the same person in the Urkel Games episode (the one before the big reveal)
    • Board James' angry expression when Motherfucker Mike says the reason Board James idolized Urkel is because he is "such a nerd".
    • Board James' foul-mouthed, aggressive yelling at Bootsy to hike up his pants which seemed highly unusual for the usually calm Board James.
    • Board James' remark of "no, they wouldn't" when Motherfucker Mike says that the Urkel Glasses would suit him.
  • James Rolfe confirmed in his special "Board James Mythology Explained" that Board James is a reincarnation of the Hang Man following his execution.
  • In the Lie Detector episode a clip is shown where James drowns Mr. Bucket. However unlike the original clip we hear Mike say "what are you doing, it's a toy" bringing the events of that episode into question.
Advertisement